EastEnders highlights police strip-searching children storyline

EastEnders will address a serious issue in its upcoming episodes. The show will depict the controversial practice of strip searching children by the Metropolitan Police. This storyline is inspired by a real incident involving a 14-year-old girl named Child Q, whose case caused public outrage in 2022. In the show, a 15-year-old character named Avani will experience a similar ordeal. She will be caught skipping school with her friends and a drug dealer. When the dealer runs away, police find drugs left at Avani’s feet. Believing Avani is hiding more drugs, the officers decide to strip search her. This moment leaves Avani terrified and alone, as her family is not available to support her. The storyline shows the impact of this traumatic experience on Avani. She will have a heated argument with her mother, Priya, after the incident comes to light. Avani's struggle and emotional pain resonate throughout the community as her friends learn what happened. In a shocking twist, Avani later collapses in a playground, prompting her father, Ravi, to discover the truth about her situation. This storyline aims to highlight the experiences of young people and the flaws within the policing system.